A reading from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

Then said a teacher, Speak to us of Teach-
ing.
And he said:
No man can reveal to you aught but that
which already lies half asleep in the dawn-
ing of your knowledge.
The teacher who walks in the shadow of
the temple, among his followers, gives not
of his wisdom but rather of his faith and
his lovingness.
If he is indeed wise he does not bid you
enter the house of his wisdom, but rather
leads you to the threshold of your own
mind.
The astronomer may speak to you of his
understanding of space, but he cannot give
you his understanding.
The musician may sing to you of the
rhythm which is in all space, but he cannot
give you the ear which arrests the rhythm
nor the voice that echoes it.
And he who is versed in the science of
numbers can tell of the regions of weight
and measure, but he cannot conduct you
thither.
For the vision of one man lends not its
wings to another man.
And even as each one of you stands alone
in God’s knowledge, so must each one of
you be alone in his knowledge of God and
in his understanding of the earth.

R: Sustain in me a willing spirit.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.

R: Sustain in me a willing spirit.

Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.

R: Sustain in me a willing spirit.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.

R: Sustain in me a willing spirit.